1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to ornamental lamp assemblies that utilizes a compact disc as a diffraction grating so that light from a light bulb can be reflected by the diffraction grating producing a myriad of different colors with the colors constantly changing.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that optically a diffraction grating consists of a regular series of fine lines ruled on a reflective surface of glass, plastic or metal. A type of structure that can be used as a diffraction grating is a compact disc. Compact discs have a continuous surface that can function as a light reflective surface with this continuous surface to have formed therein a concentric arrangement of a mass of grooves. Typical compact discs are CDs, DVDs, laser discs, mini discs and the like.
When light is reflected off the light reflective surface of a compact disc, different colors are produced. These colors are different shades of reds, blues, yellows, orange and greens. The appearance of these colors produces a desirable visual effect to an observer. When a light bulb is mounted in close proximity to the disc and when viewed in the direction of the light reflective surface, the reflected light produces a most desirable visual, colorful effect. Compact discs are commonly used for their data storage capacity. However, because of the construction of the compact disc, the compact disc also could be used as a light reflective, diffraction grating.
In the past, the using of a compact disc in conjunction with a light bulb socket has been known. However, the diffraction grating of the prior art has been fixedly mounted to the compact disc. It has been discovered that if the compact disc was to be permitted to freely wobble a limited amount that the produced colorful pattern is constantly changed thereby producing a much enhanced visual effect.